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Monday, December 10, 2012

Why did I choose to have the Gastric Sleeve

I'm not going to go into my motivations for having surgery, events and issues that compelled me to make that decision. This is the question that I'm answering.....

Once I made the decision to have surgery, why did I choose theparticular surgery that I chose?

The major weight loss surgeries are Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-y or RNY) and the LapBand (or adjustable Gastric Banding) When I was considering surgery, those were the only two options that I was aware of. However as I started researching and looking at ALL available options I found out that there are LOTS of surgeries to choose from.

I know me and I know that I don't like to do things the right way. I'm a corner cutter, a luck pusher, a habitual line stepper. That is why I chose to not have a malabsorptive procedure.My ass would have ended up passed out somewhere in the middle of street looking ashy and depleted had I gotten one. That's not a good look for ya girl.
You can't just take a Flintsone chewable and be done with it. There is a regimented vitamin schedule that you have to adhere to, and I knew that I wouldn't do it. And before anyone gets on here telling me that we need to take vitamins with ALL procedures, the fact is that malabsortive procedures can cause major, life threating deficiencies in a very short period of time. There is a difference.
I know a lot of you think that after the surgery you're going to be a new person with a new agenda and a whole new set of new habits. That may be true for a few things, but the core of you doesn't change. If you're the person who forgets to take pills now, you'll be that same person after surgery. If you ARE on point already, then you may do quite well with the Gastric Bypass or the DS.

Vertical Banded Gastroplasty is an older procedure and has fallen out of favor with surgeons, but there ARE people who have done well with it. Gastric plication on the other hand is a new procedure, but it was a little too new for me to feel comfortable with it. I X'ed those off of the list.

So I was left with the Sleeve and Lap Band. As a cash patient there was only 1000 dollars difference between the two surgeries so that wasn't an issue. I had a friend that did EXCEEDINGLY well with the Lap Band, so that is why I initially thought I wanted it. However there is a LOT of tweaking and adjusting with the Lap Band and with no insurance those appointments would have added up to more money on top of the surgical expense. In addition to that fact, having a part of my anatomy cut, pulled out of a hole in my belly and tossed in the biohazard bin actually seemed a little less radical than having something put in. You may decide that having a removable device is less drastic.

There are trade offs with each surgery, but you have to look at yourself and take honest stock of what it is that YOU want and weigh everything out. There are success stories no matter which procedure you look at.

If you're still in the research phase or even if you're post surgery, check out TheBariatricSurgeryResource.com. It's an easy to navigate website chock full of information and they have a kick ass infographic under the Weight Loss Surgery Comparison tab.

If you're reading this and you've already had surgery, would you still pick the same procedure again?

9 comments:

Excellent post. I had already cut RNY from consideration before I went to the first consultation. I wanted my stomach and pyloric valve, I didn't want a pouch and I didn't want to ruin my lifelong ability to eat anything and not be bothered. I also wanted to be able to take steroids and NSAIDS. Now that you mention it, I can't seem to remember to take vitamins. If I had to take meds, I'd be dead. I'm not a person with routines.

It was between lap-band and the sleeve. Then I started to research: constant adjust of the band. Too tight and nothing gets down; too loose and no weight loss. Food constantly getting stuck and I mean really, literally stuck. No popcorn EVER! Chewing food to gross mush FOREVER!

Then there is the scary stuff: A port on my stomach, band slipping, band breaking, port breaking, adhesions, FAILURE.

Then there were the disappointing statistics.

NO THANKS!

My surgeon still tried to get me to get the gastric bypass. He thought that I would need dumping syndrome or the threat of it to stay in line. He said I might lose 50-60% of my excess weight which would leave me obese.

I didn't choose my surgery. I chose my surgeon. My primary care physician had established a relationship with him for referring patients and working with them on-going. At the time of my referral, my doctor had a dozen patients who'd all had excellent outcomes with this surgeon. I really liked him and his office. I had a textbook-perfect outcome. Seven years later I have no regrets at all.

Thanks for the info on how you chose your surgery. I arrived at a similar decision and I m in the process of jumping thru the insurance hoops to get the Gastric Sleeve. I am very glad that I found your blog. I will definitely be following it. Please check out my blog. I welcome new friends and feedback.

I chose the lapband and wish i had gone with the sleeve only lost half my excess weight and have had issues and plateaued am about to do my blog post on www.fitfabforty.com overall tho i dont regret WLS.

Sleeve seems like the only way to go these days, however my surgeon said if the sleeve isn't as successful as I hope it to be, it can be turned into bypass later. I am scheduled for surgery on May 27th and ridiculously excited! Glad to find your blog

More and more people are turning to gastric bypass surgery to help them to lose weight. In the UK, morbid obesity is a real problem that is threatening the lives of thousands of people. Gastric bypass Weight Loss

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Soooo...what's this about

30 something year old shoe fanatic, cupcake obsessing, half-assing, food loving, bariatric post op and mom.
I had weight loss surgery and I'm blogging about my day to day life after reaching MY goal! Whether you've had or are thinking about lap-band, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, duodenal switch, or any other WLS, you are invited to the party.
contact me WaningWoman@gmail.com